"Preach the Word" (2 Timothy 3:14-4:5)

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Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! Amen! Dear brothers and sisters in Christ:

Inspired by the Holy Spirit, the Apostle Paul writes to Timothy: “I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by His appearing and His kingdom: preach the Word” (2 Timothy 4:1-2a).

 

Today’s text seems pretty simple. It explains itself. What more could I even say to this fantastic text? Afterall, there is a reason this text is always proclaimed at pastoral ordinations and installations. This text appears to have everything we need to hear when it comes to the importance of the Bible and for what the Bible is used for.

 

So, what is the importance of the Bible? Well, it is a unique collection of books, because each book contained in the Bible is “God-breathed.” What makes the Holy Scriptures so important is that they and they alone reveal the way of salvation, which is through faith in Jesus Christ alone. No other book on earth so articulately proclaims the truth of yours and my salvation.

 

The Bible is also unique in that it was written by men through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. So, when you read God’s Word, you are reading words that are divinely inspired. You are reading the very Word of God. So, if you ever wonder what God thinks, just open up your Bible and read.

 

You see, it is the Holy Spirit who brought about these writings. They were willed by God and determined by God. The Holy Spirit moved the writers to write in the way they did for these Scriptures are truly the very Word of God.

 

St. Peter wrote: “No prophecy of Scripture comes from someone’s own interpretation. For no prophecy was every produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit” (2 Peter 1:20-21).

 

And since the Bible is the very Word of God, it contains not a single error. The words contained from Genesis to Revelation contain no errors, since God is incapable of ever making a single mistake.

Since God’s Word is true, it is profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, so that we would be complete and equipped for every good work (2 Timothy 3:16-17).

 

The Holy Spirit forms us through God’s written Word. He gives us knowledge. He calls us to repentance over sin. He corrects us through the Word. He trains us through discipline and instruction as we live out the Christian life in repentance and faith. 

 

Each written word in the Scriptures was inspired by the Holy Spirit for our benefit. So may we so hear them, read, mark, learn and inwardly digest them that, by patience and comfort of Your holy Word, we may embrace and hold fast the blessed hope of everlasting life through our Lord Jesus Christ!

 

But there’s a problem. Now, there’s no problem with the Bible. The problem is with you and me. 

 

St. Paul writes to Timothy: “For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths” (2 Timothy 4:3-4).

 

“For the time is coming.” Here, Paul is looking to the future, a future for which Paul wants to prepare Timothy. Paul is preparing Timothy for the bad times to come. A future in which is our reality today. 

 

For the time is coming when people will not tolerate sound doctrine but will listen to their itching ears for what they want to hear. This time is today.

 

Here, Paul is distinguishing between what people need to hear and what people want to hear. What people need to hear is “sound doctrine.” It is sound because it is what God wants said. “Sound doctrine” comes from God, and it produces spiritual health. 

 

But ever since the Fall of Adam, humanity has tried to usurp control over God’s Word. Satan inferred that God was lying to Adam and Eve, so they tried to take control to be “like God” even though they were already made in His image. All they did was lose God’s likeness when they ate of the forbidden fruit. Likewise, the children of Israel also complained, criticized and condemned the Lord. 

 

We are not too different from our ancestors who nagged and nitpicked God’s grace. Yours and my sinful nature would rather not put up with sound doctrine, because it does not say what we want to hear. It’s because sound doctrine exposes our sin and proclaims condemnation. Sound doctrine does not flatter us with a recital of what great things we have done. So much of God’s sound doctrine does not make sense to our human reason.

 

So, what does sinful humanity do? It does what sinful humanity has always done. It will look for teachers who “suit their own passions” by turning “away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths” (2 Timothy 4:3, 4).

 

So, we look for teachers and preachers who will scratch our itching ears. We become cats or dogs looking for a good scratch. So, we look for teachers and preachers who flatter our egos, who gives credit to man, who satisfies our natural desires and lusts, who preaches to human reason, who reinterpret Scripture to correspond to human reason.

 

And whenever the Church blesses what God condemns, it stops being the voice of Christ. It becomes an echo chamber of the fallen world. You see, the Gospel calls sinners out of darkness, it does not hold the sinner’s hand in that darkness and encourage the sinner to remain in darkness.

 

But Jesus welcomed everyone, pastor! Yes, He did. But He never left anyone unchanged. And that’s the point. He welcomed an adulterous woman, but He said, “Go, and sin no more!” (John 8:11). He dined with tax collectors, but He called them to leave behind their thievery. You see, grace does not re-write sin. Grace redeems the sinner from sin. But sinful man cannot bear this tension. It wants acceptance without repentance; affirmation without transformation.

 

The message goes from take up your cross to drop the cross, because God wants you to be yourself because He made you that way. It goes from repent and believe to affirm and belong.

 

Actual compassion tells the sinner when he is sinning. Actual compassion admits the log in your own eye, because you want to remove the splinter in your neighbor’s eye.

 

Jesus did not die to validate all sinful desires. Jesus wasn’t crucified so that we could all remain in sin. Jesus died to crucify our sinful desires; those desires of the flesh. And Jesus sent the Holy Spirit so that we would not give in to the desires of the flesh.

Today, there are so many ear-scratching teachers and preachers at churches that once proclaimed sound doctrine, but are now teaching what God’s Word so plainly and repeatedly condemns, such as sexual immorality and women’s ordination.

 

God never gave His Church any authority to redefine sin. Christ is still the ruler of His Church. He doesn’t call on pastors to make new rules. His pastors are to simply be His servants as we go about doing what He has said. So, when you hear things like, “We must listen to the spirit of our age,” always remember that the Holy Spirit literally inspired men to write the very Word of God. The Bible was written by God. And He is not going to move in the spirit to our modern age, which is different from the way He wrote the Bible.

 

In short, these ear-scratching teachers and preachers preach anything except God’s revealed truth. So, they will never expose sin and never lead the sinner to any godly change.

 

Thanks be to God that you are here! So, you are like Timothy. Now, you are not a pastor, like me, but you are still like Timothy, because you have not given up. You are enduring. Paul writes to Timothy: “But as for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry” (2 Timothy 4:5).

 

Here, Paul is encouraging Timothy and us, so that we are able to continue in faith as we “continue in what [we] have learned and have firmly believed” – that is, “the sacred writings, which are able to make [us] wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus” (2 Timothy 3:14-15). Being encouraged, we do as Paul encouraged Timothy: we preach the Word.

 

You see, Jesus has commissioned all of us to make disciples of all nations by teaching all that He has commanded us. He has called us to speak of the hope we have in Christ Jesus to all who have ears to hear. 

 

Now, it is true that we have different emphases on this calling. For I have been given the authority to preach and teach through my calling as an ordained servant of the Word. But you, too, have a similar calling. Yes, I am to proclaim God’s Word publicly. But you have a role, too, as you proclaim your faith through your various God-given vocations in life as father or mother, brother or sister, educator or student, boss or employee, friend and neighbor.

 

But you may say? It’s not the right time. To that, God’s Word says: It’s always the right time. It’s always a good time to proclaim the Word. In season or out of season, because God’s Word is always in season.

 

We preach the Word, because His Word will not return to God empty. For He proclaims: “For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall My Word be that goes out from My mouth; it shall not return to Me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it” (Isaiah 55:10-11). 

 

This Word is Jesus Christ. He is the One who suffered, died, rose, and ascended to save us from our sinful self, the devil, and this fallen world. So, we preach Christ crucified. For the One who said, “Father, forgive them” (Luke 23:34) forgave us.

 

We preach the Word, because Jesus Christ is that very human divine Word of salvation. Jesus is our foundation, our focus and our source of forgiveness. Amen.

 

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding,

 keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen.  

+ SOLI DEO GLORIA +

"In Christ, We Suffer ... and Endure" (2 Timothy 2:1-13)

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Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! Amen! Dear brothers and sisters in Christ:

Inspired by the Holy Spirit, St. Paul wrote to Timothy: “Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus” (2 Timothy 2:3).

 

As I preached last week, it would be so easy to just feel sorry for yourself while chained in a damp room. It would be so easy to begin the blame game or just complain about circumstances. But St. Paul does not do that. Instead, he is strengthened through his suffering in Christ. He encourages Timothy to share in his suffering in Christ.

 

Contrary to popular belief, the Christian life is marked by suffering. Christians endure misfortune and persecution. Christians endure all kinds of trials. Christians must endure the evil from the devil, the fallen world, and our own sinful flesh.

 

Christians suffer because suffering is the pattern of the life of Jesus Christ. So, if your life is in Christ, you must share the same pattern. If the world hated Christ, so naturally, the world hates His followers – Christians. 

 

St. Paul suffered mightily for the Gospel. He wasn’t just ridiculed by society. Paul wasn’t just called insulting names; he was imprisoned for the sake of the Gospel. And Paul believed this current imprisonment would likely end with his death. This is why he is writing to Timothy. He is writing to Timothy to give him courage in the faith for when he would face suffering.

 

Timothy would face suffering. He would be imprisoned as recorded in Hebrews 13:23. Later Timothy would be stoned to death in Ephesus for preaching the Gospel in opposition to the pagan false god Diana.

 

As a follower of Christ, we should not expect anything less than suffering for the sake of Christ. Just weeks ago, Jesus evangelized us in Luke 14 saying, “If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple. Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple. … Anyone of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be My disciple” (Luke 14:26-27, 33).

 

Jesus evangelized us by saying if you want to follow Him, then you must first count the cost. One of those costs is bearing your own cross, which means we must be ready to die for the sake of the truth. We must all be prepared to be a martyr for Christ in a fallen world that murdered its Maker and its Redeemer.

 

The prophets and apostles faced opposition from a world that wants nothing to do with God, so the fallen world killed them. We join them in this train.

 

You see, Christian suffering is our vocation. Suffering is our calling. Paul’s and Timothy’s sufferings were specifically because of their callings as apostle and pastor. But they didn’t suffer for themselves, for their own sake. No, Paul and Timothy suffered for the sake of the gospel. They endured everything for the sake of the elect – the Christians of all time, you, as well as your relatives of the past and your relatives of the future.

 

So, today, Paul writes to Timothy and to you and me of what it means to be a Christian, a follower of Christ. A Christian isn’t to have mixed allegiances. A Christian is to have a whole-hearted and single-minded faith in Jesus Christ.

 

So, Paul writes of three illustrations to encourage Timothy as well as us here today.

 

The first illustration is that of a soldier. And to be more precise, a combat soldier. A good soldier serves his commanding officer with a singleness of purpose. A good soldier doesn’t question his commanding officer. A good soldier follows orders. A good soldier makes it his intent to please his commanding officer.

 

As a good soldier, he cannot have divided loyalties. Paul writes, “No soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him” (2 Timothy 2:4). So, whether under an officer in the military or a boss in the office, we in the Lord’s service accept suffering by trusting that Jesus will not forsake us. Jesus is our commanding officer and so we are to be 100 percent loyal to Him by renouncing all our self-interests.

 

The second illustration is that of a competing athlete. Paul writes, “An athlete is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules” (2 Timothy 2:5). As it is in the Olympics, amateur or professional sports, the athlete must compete by the rules. Doctrine matters. The rules of the Christian faith is doctrine as it is bound in the Scriptures, the Old and New Testaments. 

As Christians, we cannot change the rules. We cannot change doctrine. God’s Word says: “I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book, and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book” (Revelation 22:18-19).

 

So, we can’t change the rules and say that salvation is through works. We can’t change the rules and say that all people are saved no matter what you believe. We can’t change the rules and say that same-sex and polyamorous marriage is not a sin. We can’t change the rules by saying evil is good. We can’t change the rules just so that we would be praised by the fallen world. You see, God’s Word does not change even if we change it, for we are all ultimately judged by Him.

 

Likewise, “an athlete is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules” (2 Timothy 2:5). And what is this crown that Paul writes? It is the crown of everlasting life, the imperishable wreath (1 Corinthians 9:25). So, any pastor, teacher or layperson who fails to compete lawfully cannot receive the crown, the crown of everlasting life. Paul’s point is this: any Christian who fails faithfully to hand down those things “you have heard from me” (2 Timothy 2:2), the apostolic teaching, is disqualified from receiving the crown of everlasting life.

 

The third illustration is that of a hardworking farmer. Here, Paul is not telling us what we are to do, but rather the blessings we can expect from our hard and difficult work. St. Paul writes, “It is the hard-working farmer who ought to have the first share of the crops” (2 Timothy 2:6). Here, Paul is giving additional assurance to Timothy in his faithful preaching and teaching, since it is not in vain for the one who toils is bound to receive his reward.

 

So, what is the reward? What is the share of the crops? Well, our fruits are always spiritual. For it is our work to sow the seed of God’s Word. For me, I receive spiritual fruits from faithful preaching. You and I grow in the one true Christian faith through preaching. As I prepare sermons, my faith is strengthened. I receive comfort and joy through Christ. In fact, the sermons I prepare for you, I first preach to myself.

 

The Holy Spirit grows spiritual fruits for you, too. He does this through inwardly digesting His Word through preaching, Bible Study and your devotional life. And when you confess your faith publicly – the sure hope you have in Christ, you may face suffering, but you will also reap God’s blessing.

Paul concludes his illustrations with these words: “Think over what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything” (2 Timothy 2:7). Here, Paul is calling on us to ponder, to reflect on what he has written. For when we do reflect on God’s Word, the Lord gives us proper understanding through the Holy Spirit. This “understanding” is the reward of being drenched in God’s Word by holding it sacred as we gladly hear and learn it (Luther’s Explanation to the Third Commandment).

So, always remember that suffering is our lot in Christ. And being chained as a criminal, Paul sees this as a blessed identification with Jesus. Afterall, Jesus was bound and led away to His execution to be nailed to a cross.

 

Paul calls on Timothy, as well as you and me, to remember what Jesus went through. To the world, Jesus looked pitiful; Jesus looked disgraced. The world saw a man chained, beaten, crucified, dead, and buried. The world wanted that to be the end.

 

But it wasn’t the end. Jesus rose from the dead! The Word of God is not bound! We preach Christ crucified and risen for sinners! God’s Word is not chained! His preaching continues through sound preaching!

 

Because Christ is raised from the dead, we are filled with hope! Yes, we will suffer for the sake of Christ. Suffering is our lot; our vocation; our calling. But just as the chains of death could not keep Jesus in the tomb, we, too, will be raised from the dead. Jesus’ resurrection is our resurrection. 

 

So, we endure! We endure through Jesus. We endure through repentance and faith. We endure this cycle of repentance and faith. When you sin – when you aren’t loyal to your commanding officer Jesus and when we think you can change the rules – repent, turn to Jesus and receive His forgiveness that He won for you upon the cross! For this saying is true: “If we have died with Him, we will also live with Him; if we endure, we will also reign with Him; if we deny Him, he also will deny us; if we are faithless, He remains faithful – for He cannot deny Himself” (2 Timothy 2:11-13).

 

Jesus endured everything for you and me. He faced every trial. He faced every evil. Through His innocent suffering and death, Jesus forgave all sins. Through repentance and faith in Him, your sins are forgiven through His blood and merit. He endured so that we can endure. And He gives us the tools for endurance: His Means of Grace, Word and Sacrament. So, let us endure through Him, as we share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus, who always remains faithful to you and me! Amen.

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding,

 keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen.  

+ SOLI DEO GLORIA +

"From Fear to Courage" (2 Timothy 1:1-14)

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Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! Amen! Dear brothers and sisters in Christ:

The Holy Spirit inspired St. Paul to write to Timothy the following: “I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, dwells in you as well” (2 Timothy 1:5).

 

While in prison for proclaiming the one true Christian faith, St. Paul had much time to think. He had much time to pray. It would be so easy to feel sorry for yourself while chained in a damp room. It would be so easy to begin the blame game or just complain about circumstances. But St. Paul does not do that. Instead, he thanks God.

 

St. Paul remembers his forefathers who brought him up as he would grow up into becoming a Pharisee and later through Christ’s intervention, an apostle of Christ. Paul went from a persecutor of Christ into a courageous witness and missionary of Christ. 

 

Paul remembers Timothy’s tears. He remembers that day when he parted from Timothy. Could Timothy had known that Rome had a bounty on Paul, his father of the faith? We don’t know. But we do know that final time brought tears upon Timothy. And any separation does bring sorrow.

 

As Paul thinks of Timothy, he is reminded of Timothy’s family. He tells of the faith that first dwelt in Timothy’s grandmother Lois and his mother Eunice. Paul speaks of their sincere faith. He says that same faith also dwells in Timothy.

 

You see, the Holy Spirit had worked a sincere faith in their hearts, one that showed itself also in the way Eunice and Lois instructed Timothy in the Old Testament when he was still a child. Through the Holy Spirit working in the hearts of his mother and grandmother, we can see how the godly examples of faithful parents and grandparents can bring eternal blessings to children and children’s children.

 

But did you notice what’s not mentioned by Paul? It is kind of striking. Paul never mentions Timothy’s father or grandfather. And when men are not mentioned in the Scriptures, it is usually for the better. 

You see, if Timothy was to know the Scriptures, he wasn’t going to get that from his father. For Acts 16:1 tells us that his father was a Greek, a heathen, an unbeliever. Timothy grew up in a home with divided loyalties, much like so many homes today.

 

And when the head of the household will not lead the home, who ends up doing it? The mother. This is the case for Timothy. This is the case for so many households today.

 

But the good news is that Timothy was taught the faith from his mother, who learned it from her mother. Through the working of the Holy Spirit in his mother and indwelling in him, Timothy learned the sound words of Christian doctrine. Timothy became a disciple of Christ. Timothy received the laying on of hands. He was ordained to the holy calling of pastor.

 

But something happened to Timothy after he became a pastor. He changed. He became timid. 

 

Something happens to us as we grow older. At some point in our lives, we all develop the virtue of hesitancy. Now, certainly the faith given to us through the Holy Spirit is still there, but that faith does not flow so smoothly through the mouth. We become timid. We hesitate to speak of the hope we have in Christ with others. We shut our mouths at family gatherings. We shut our mouths among our friends. We learned the virtue of hesitating. We have learned how to keep our mouths quiet. 

 

Now, certainly a major part of why we hesitate and become timid is the hostile world around us. We desire to live in this hostile world, so we hesitate to speak of the good news we have in Christ with our friends, our family, our neighbor. We don’t want to cause a scene, so we keep our mouths quiet.

 

One person who did not keep his mouth quiet speaking of the sure and certain hope he had in Jesus Christ was Charlie Kirk. He spoke in some of the most un-Christian places: college campuses. He conversed with people who disagreed with him. He would have those who disagreed with him come to the front of the line to argue their opinions. Sometimes Charlie changed their mind. Other times he did not. Sometimes Charlie would change his own mind. But each conversation was rooted in God’s Word and for that Charlie was hated by many. He was called a bigot. He was called a Nazi, a fascist. He was called a white supremacist. He was called a homophobe, a transphobe. But for those who called Charlie names, did they truly know why? I tend to doubt they even knew why. They just heard it said by someone else and believed the lie.

In John 15, Jesus said to His disciples: “If the world hates you, know that it has hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you” … But the word that is written in their Law must be fulfilled: ‘They hated Me without a cause’” (John 15:18-20a, 25).

 

Charlie was hated by many because he was faithful to God’s Word as he spoke on college campuses. And for being faithful to his Lord and Savior, he was assassinated last month. May we have the same courage of Charlie Kirk.

 

This is exactly what St. Paul was saying to Timothy. With a clear and gentle rebuke, St. Paul wrote to Timothy that God has not given Christians a spirit of fear.

 

Maybe Timothy was fearful because he went from an innocent and naïve faith and has now encountered a world that has killed its Maker. We all know of Christians who have walked away from the faith. We all know Christians who have chosen to leave Bible-centered churches to churches that are praised by the fallen world.

 

Timothy has learned to keep his mouth shut. He has learned to be ashamed of the testimony of God’s Word. And so have we.

 

We, too, have been confronted by a world that has rejected its Maker. We have all heard those false teachers in the world – on television and social media, in our places of learning. We know how persuasive those false teachers have been. We have all seen brothers and sisters depart from the one true faith. Despite our prolonged and gut-wrenching efforts to draw them back, we have watched them walk away. And we know faithful Christians suffer. We have learned how to keep our mouths shut. We have learned how to keep our mouths quiet. We have learned to conceal the deep love and the utter dependance we have on Jesus. We have learned how to conceal that hope when we chat with our friends and neighbors. 

 

We all need St. Paul’s encouragement that he gave to this young pastor named Timothy. Did you notice how he encourages Timothy? He encourages him by summoning the little boy he once was. He says, “I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, … dwells in you” (2 Timothy 1:5).

The Holy Spirit dwells in Timothy. The Spirit of the One who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light dwells in Timothy.

 

And He dwells in you, too. Through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, how could anyone of us be ashamed of Jesus? Afterall, He “saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of His own purpose and grace, which He gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began” (2 Timothy 1:9).

 

In other words, Jesus has “redeemed me, a lost and condemned person, purchased and won me from all sins, from death, and from the power of the devil; not with gold or silver, but with His holy, precious blood and with His innocent suffering and death, that I may be His own and live under Him in His kingdom and serve Him in everlasting righteousness, innocence, and blessedness, just as He is risen from the dead, lives and reigns to all eternity. This is most certainly true.” (Second Article)

 

We received God’s grace not because of anything you and I have done, but by what God has done for us. We cannot even take responsibility for coming to faith. Eunice and Lois and your parents and grandparents certainly played a role, but it was the Holy Spirit who brought them and you to faith. For “I believe that I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord, or come to Him; but the Holy Spirit has called me by the Gospel, enlightened me with His gifts, sanctified and kept me in the true faith.” (Third Article)

 

This is how God does it. This is God’s way. You have faith “because of His own purpose and grace” (2 Timothy 1:9). Yours and my faith is all because of God’s grace from beginning to end. And He keeps us strong in faith through His Means of Grace as “He calls, gathers, enlightens, and sanctifies the whole Christian Church on earth” through the preaching of His Word and the receiving of His Sacraments. 

 

So, “follow the pattern of the sound words” that you have been taught “in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus” (2 Timothy 1:13). Pay close attention to what God has said and done in Christ. Guard the good deposit. Read the Word, Hear the Word, live His Word. For there is nothing more important than God’s Word. Don’t be ashamed. Don’t be timid. But be courageous. Be childlike in the faith and look for opportunities to share with your loved ones, your neighbors, of the faith you have. For the One who destroyed death has also “brought life and immortality to light through the gospel” (2 Timothy 1:10). Amen.

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding,

 keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen.  

+ SOLI DEO GLORIA +

"A Warning to All: The Rich Man and Lazarus" (Luke 16:19-31)

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Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! Amen! Dear brothers and sisters in Christ: 

“The poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried, and in Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side” (Luke 16:22-23).

 

Most people think very little about their own death. After all, most people will live life to an old age. But then, there are some who try to deny they will ever die, which means they likely live with no accounting of how they live. Afterall, why not live by the motto: you only live once. So, just do it. Take the risk. Enjoy life. Whatever that may be. Enjoy life on the couch. Enjoy life on the links.

 

Today’s Gospel text pictures our mortality. We cannot deny death. God’s Word says, “The years of our life are seventy, or even by reason of strength eighty; yet their span is but toil and trouble; they are soon gone, and we fly away” (Psalm 90:10). The wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23a). You and I are going to die. That is, unless Christ returns first. Life is short as our days and months and years fly by. 

 

So, to keep us prepared for the future, Jesus teaches us the story about a rich man and Lazarus. Jesus teaches us about the real places of heaven and hell.

 

Until the day of your death, or the day of Christ’s return, everyone receives their daily bread from God – Christians and heathens alike. The Lord gives us everything that has to do with the support and needs of the body for all people, as well as everything that has to do with the support and needs of our soul for us Christians. The Lord certainly blesses us daily!

 

In today’s text, Jesus tells of two men whom the Lord has blessed.

 

Now, Jesus tells us this story because of the Pharisees, who as St. Luke tells “we're lovers of money” (Luke 16:14). These Pharisees ridiculed Jesus after He told them the parables of the lost sheep, the lost coin, the prodigal son, and the dishonest manager. Jesus concluded those parables saying, “No servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money” (Luke 16:13).

Like the rich man in today’s story, these Pharisees loved themselves. But Jesus teaches us that the love of money and selfishness can lead a person to hell, whereas proper love and trust in God will lead to eternal life.

 

Now, is today’s story told by Jesus a parable, a simple story, or was it a real event? I raise this question because there are no other parables where Jesus actually names a person. And what’s also different is that the rich man is a person without a name. While the poor man has a name: Lazarus, which means “God has helped.”

 

Now, there is something that we do know about this story Jesus told. He told this story to warn the Pharisees and also you and me. He told this story to warn everyone: believer and unbeliever alike. He warns us against greed and loveless ease.

 

Jesus calls us to help and support our neighbor for any physical need. Jesus warns us to beware of the love of money – when money becomes your idol, which might turn us away from our neighbor and even from our God. And above all, Jesus’ story today teaches us to look to our God in the midst of life’s trouble, to listen to His Scriptures and their promises, and to set our hearts on the joy and comfort of His coming kingdom. So, what can we say about the two men in today’s story? 

 

Well, there was a rich man. Jesus tells us that he “was clothed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day” (Luke 16:19). This man lived in luxury. He spent his money on what made him feel good and look good. He thought only of himself.

 

Then, there was another man named Lazarus. Jesus tells us that he “was covered with sores” and he “desired to be fed with what fell from the rich man’s table” (Luke 16:20, 21). Lazarus was a beggar. Lazarus was sick and crippled, and he was a pitiful sight. The rich man had more money than he could ever spend. He lived sumptuously. The poor man Lazarus only yearned for table scraps. He lived in misery.

 

Jesus also tells us that there was no act of kindness that came from this rich man toward this poor beggar. This rich man may have been monetarily rich, but he was certainly “not rich toward God”(Luke 12:21). He does not make himself clean by giving to the poor (Luke 11:41). He won’t even give the needly his leftovers that just spoil and rot. And oddly enough, it appears that this rich man did not even use his worldly wealth to gain friends, so that when he died, he would be welcomed into the eternal dwellings (Luke 16:9). This rich man appears to have only been focused upon himself. He was hoarding up earthly treasure and clothing and food.

Now the wages of sin, which is death, will come for the worldly rich and the worldly poor alike. Death comes for all people, because all people are caught in the web of sin.

 

But when death comes for Lazarus and this rich man, they experience a great reversal of fortune. Jesus pronounced blessed “who hunger now, for you shall be satisfied” (Luke 6:21) and on the other hand, He said, “Woe to you who are full now, for you shall be hungry” (Luke 6:25). This beatitude and curse that Jesus speaks about are vividly illustrated by the situation in which Lazarus and this rich man find themselves in the afterlife.

 

Lazarus, the poor man, finds himself at the banquet table of salvation, reclining next to Father Abraham. While the rich man is desiring what Lazarus now has. He calls out, “Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in anguish in this flame” (Luke 16:24).

 

The thoughts of this rich man then turn to his five brothers who still live on earth. He wants to warn them to repent of their life, so they would not face his fate in hell “where their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched” (Mark 9:48). To this, Abraham says, “They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them” (Luke 16:29). But this rich man still does not believe. He wants more than God’s inerrant Word, the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments. He wants his brothers scared into repentance and faith. He calls on Abraham to send Lazarus back to life, but Abraham says, “If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead” (Luke 16:31).

 

In other words, Abraham is saying, even if Lazarus did return, they will not change their ways. No miracle will change them. If the Word of God cannot convince them, neither will a resurrection from the dead.

 

Jesus tells this story as a warning to the Pharisees. And this story is also a warning to us. For we, too, are tempted to love the good things of this life, like wealth and honor. Of course, it is not certainly wrong to ask God for daily bread, but we are to ask with gratitude. Afterall, Jesus calls us to receive the blessings that God provides to us in this life. For all these good things, God be thanked and God be praised.

 

But God has nowhere promised anyone bounty or uninterrupted ease in this life. He has not promised anyone honor and recognition in this life. So, sometimes, His people are covered with sores and sickness. Sometimes His people face heartache. Sometimes His people face disappointment. 

Sometimes, His people face tragedies that bring life to a screeching halt. Sometimes, God’s people must endure bad things. Sometimes, God’s people must live as beggars.

 

Now, God has promised us something. He has promised us lasting bounty and lasting joy that is given to us through Jesus Christ. This is the testimony of Moses and the Prophets to whom Abraham points the rich man. For us, today, we not only have Moses and the Prophets, but we also have the Gospels and Epistles. The entirety of God’s Word from Genesis to Revelation convey the promises of God and God does not lie (Titus 1:2).

 

So, whoever turns aside from these divine promises in Christ to set his heart instead on earthly pleasures and riches is certainly a fool.

 

But whether, we are rich or we are poor, each of us will die and each of us will stand in the judgement as a beggar before God. The good news is that in Jesus Christ, we see that God makes beggars rich. Inspired by the Holy Spirit, St. Paul writes, “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, so that you by His poverty might become rich” (2 Corinthians 8:9). Jesus set aside all of His unimaginable wealth as the Son of God lowered Himself to take on our human flesh. He was born in our flesh and then took on the form of a beggar. He said, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head” (Luke 9:58).

 

Jesus hung naked on the cross. Men cast lots for His clothing. He was covered in wounds, but not even the dogs licked His sores. He was mocked by scoffers. They laughed at His misery. He was rejected by all. But He did this all for us. He did this to be the perfect sacrifice for our sins. He suffered, died, rose and ascended for you.

 

Certainly, none of us are worthy to ask for or even inherit anything before God, not even the rich man, not even Lazarus, not you, and not me. But there is one who is worthy. “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain!” (Revelation 5:12) 

 

Jesus alone is worthy, and He shares this inheritance with all poor sinful beggars who look up to Him in faith. So, when you lack and worry, when you fear and weep, look up, turn your eyes to heaven. All that is Christ’s is yours. He has purchased for you the everlasting kingdom with His holy and precious blood. So, keep praying and keep waiting. For in Christ, you are as rich as Lazarus. Amen.

 

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding,

 keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen.  

+ SOLI DEO GLORIA +